The Detroit News's view

JEROME, Ariz. – It’s a little nippy up here, a mile above sea level, even for mid-February in Arizona. From the top floor of the 71-year-old Jerome Grand Hotel, you can see practically the entire Verde Valley below, stretching to the horizon. Dead Horse Ranch State Park is due east.

We’re at the midpoint of an exhilarating six-hour, 300-mile cruise in the new Porsche Boxster. Our trip began from the outskirts of Phoenix, turned north to Prescott and on up to this old mining community and former ghost town that’s metamorphosed into a popular tourist haunt on the Southwest bed-and-breakfast circuit.

But all of the picturesque settings have a tough time taking attention from the Boxster.

The first all-new Porsche sports car in 19 years boasts a pedigree that dates back a half-century. Its classic mid-engine, two-seat layout evokes memories of the lithe and lovely 550 Spyders of the mid-Fifties. The car’s pleasing proportions and distinctive details like the polyellipsoid headlamps and subtle side scoops are satisfyingly close to those on the original concept vehicle that was unveiled to the world at the 1993 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

In short, this Porsche is a winner.

The snug cockpit of the Boxster looks like it was designed by trendy twenty-somethings who might have been influenced by the latest shapes in consumer electronics, yet the car still manages to retain the flavor of vintage sports cars. Purists will be pleased by features like the back-lit analog gauges housed in an instrument pod just ahead of the steering wheel, while design freaks will be equally tickled by such niceties as the stylish door pulls and optional wind baffle that reduces buffeting and wind noise in the cabin even at paralegal speeds. The standard seats are comfortable enough, but you’ll have to pay extra for full leather, power adjustment and bun-warmers.

The power-operated soft top is clever and absolutely simple, taking a mere 12 seconds to stow under a hard tonneau behind the seats. You can purchase an optional aluminum hardtop if you want to tough it out over the winter, but it really destroys the lines of the car and defeats the whole purpose of this open-air beauty.

Unlike its predecessors, the Boxster is well-outfitted with safety gear, including dual front air bags and power-assisted four-wheel disc brakes with antilock that provide truly awesome stopping power. Traction control – called ASR (for “anti-slip regulation”) – is an extra-cost option.

Looks aside, the heart of the Boxster is its horizontally opposed six-cylinder “boxer” engine (so named because the pistons appear to be “boxing” one another). That’s also where the car took its name – a contraction of “boxer” and “roadster.”

The water-cooled engine is an ultra-modern design, and yet is pure Porsche. It features double overhead cams with four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing, which enables better mid-r ange torque and high-end horsepower.

But the Boxster doesn’t lack for juice. It makes 201 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque, with much of that muscle kicking in above 3000 rpm. In truth, the Boxster feels deceptively slow until the engine revs build, although Porsche claims it will bolt from zero to 60 in a mere 6.7 seconds. During our test drive, the car felt far more lively when accelerating from 50 to 75 mph than it did when moving away from a stoplight.

Porsche offers a five-speed manual gearbox, although you can order the nifty Tiptronic S five-speed automatic, which permits fingertip shifts from the steering wheel. The two transmissions are geared fairly close to one another, although you’ll realize marginally better performance and fuel economy with the manual.

The Boxster displays a nimbleness and agility that’s lacking in the rear-engine 911 series, due in part to its lighter weight and mid-engine layout. An all-independent suspension, with struts, coil ings, control arms and stabilizer bars, contributes greatly to the car’s superb handling, as does the variable-assist power rack-and-pinion steering. The Boxster feels responsive, yet its suspension is not so tightly sprung that your teeth will chatter on the sort of unpaved roads we occasionally encountered in the Arizona outback. (We’ll withhold final judgment until we get a chance to sample the Boxster on Michigan’s more punishing pavement.)

Best of all, the Boxster is priced from $39,980, well below the 911 coupe, which starts at $63,750 and ranges up to $120,000 for the Turbo. Fully equipped with such options as a six-disc CD changer, cellular phone and sport suspension, the Boxster’s sticker can quickly drift to $45,000 or more – still a relative bargain among Porschephiles.

Fred Schwab, president of Porsche Cars North America, says the arrival of the Boxster should help double the company’s U.S. sales this year to around 14,000 units. Of the 6,000 Boxsters that Porsche expects to ship to the States by July 31, nearly every one is spoken for, according to Schwab, who observes:

Schwab says 50 percent of the initial orders for Boxster are from people who have never owned a Porsche, and roughly 33 percent are women (vs. a mere 12 percent for the 911). Porsche is aiming the Boxster at a younger buyer, too, ranging in age from 35 to 55.

“We’re finding that many (buyers) are previous sports-car owners,” he says. “People who take care of their cars … for whom driving is a sensual experience.”

If you’re the sort of person who enjoys a rollicking ride through Arizona’s Upper Desert you’ll want to take a lingering look at the Boxster. If you can still find one.

Base price: $39,980

Standard equipment: Variable-assist power steering, all-independent suspension, four-wheel power disc brakes, five-spoke cast-alloy wheels, Bridgestone Potenza S02 radial tires (205/55ZR16 front, 235/50ZR16 rear), power soft top, fog lamps, headlamp washers, rear spoiler, heated windshield washer nozzles, heated power mirrors, tinted glass, two luggage compartments, leather and cloth upholstery, leather-wrapped steering wheel, back-lit analog gauges, automatic climate control with filters, power windows, dual vanity mirrors, central locking and alarm system with remote entry, AM-FM stereo cassette.

Major options: Tiptronic S automatic transmission, removable hardtop, CD player or 6-disc CD changer, premium audio system, infrared security package, high-intensity-discharge headlamps, heated power seats, metallic paint, sport suspension, 17-inch wheels and tires, aero kit with front and rear spoilers and rocker panels, Fujitsu cellular phone.

Safety features: Dual front air bags, integrated rollbars, antilock brakes, traction control (optional).

Engine: 2.5-liter O-6, 201 horsepower at 6000 rpm, 181 lb-ft at 4500 rpm; 0-60 mph, 6.7 seconds.

Transmission: Five-speed manual or five-speed Tiptronic au tomatic.

Specifications: Wheelbase, 95.2 inches; length, 171 inches; curb weight, 2,756 pounds.

EPA fuel economy: 19 mpg city/27 mpg highway

Where built: Zuffenhausen, Germany